Camden-Frontier football opens season with 64-26 rout of Baldwin

Monday

BALDWIN — Camden-Frontier’s varsity football team badly wanted to start their season off with a win, and on Friday they made a strong statement.

The Redskins pounded the Panthers 64-26, but their route to victory wasn’t all celebration and fist-pumping.

“We were only up 16 points at halftime,” C-F head coach Mark Long said, reflecting on his team’s two-score lead heading into the second half of Friday’s opener. “But we got better as the night wore on.”

The Redskins relied on the speed of senior running back Hunter Bennett, who tore up the gridiron on his way to 179 rushing yards, including a punt returned for a touchdown, to help extend their lead.

C-F quarterback Randy Lawson III showed off a strong arm in Friday’s contest, passing for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Out of the pocket, he was just as effective, scrambling for 103 yards and scoring twice on his own.

Lawson’s favorite target in Friday’s contest was junior Owen Brown. The wideout had 35 receiving yards and hauled in two touchdown passes.

But while the Redskins were firing on all cylinders on offense, Long said his team’s defensive line needs to clean up several areas, including tackling more efficiently.

“The biggest thing was that we were tackling too high,” Long said. “We need the defense to get their faster and tackle lower to bring guys down.”

But C-F saw strong performances from several defensive backs Friday, including Julian Stump, who made 15 tackles. The junior was assisted by senior Jake Newell, who had six stops and recovered a fumble.

Connor VanAkin added five tackles and an assist, while Kyler Carpenter also made five stops.

But in the end, it was the Redskins’ high-flying offense that carried the day. C-F (1-0, 0-0) will hit the road again next Thursday, this time travelling to Burr Oak for their first conference matchup.

This week, Long said his team will review film from Friday’s opener as he looks to work with individual players on tightening up their game.

“It’s good to have everything on film; that way we can work with everyone,” he said. “But we’re 1-0, and that’s really all that you can ask for.”

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